27 CFR 24.295 - Return of wine to bond.

(a)General.Wine, domestic or imported, which has been taxpaid and removed from bonded wine premises, may be received by the proprietor of a bonded wine premises for return to bond. The proprietor may, when such taxpaid wine is returned to bond, make a claim for refund or credit, without interest. However, tax will not be refunded or credited for any wine for which a claim has been or will be made under 27 CFR part 70, subpart G. If the tax has been determined but not paid, the person liable for the tax may, when such wine is returned to bond, be relieved of the liability. Claims for refund or credit, or relief from tax paid or determined on wine returned to bond, are filed in accordance with § 24.66.

Written comments on Notice No. 164 are now due on or before April 9, 2018.

27 CFR Part 24

Summary

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is extending for an additional 90 days the recently-reopened comment period for Notice No. 164, Wine Treating Materials and Related Regulations, a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on November 22, 2016. TTB is taking this action in response to a request from a wine industry trade association.

This temporary rule is effective December 5, 2017 through January 23, 2020.

27 CFR Parts 24 and 27

Summary

This temporary rule delays the compliance date of a wine labeling requirement that was established by T.D. TTB-147, a temporary rule published on January 23, 2017. In that rule, TTB required the statement “Tax class 5041(b)(6)” to appear on the container of any wine for which the hard cider tax rate is claimed if it is removed from wine premises or customs custody on or after January 1, 2018. This temporary rule delays the compliance date for that requirement by one year. Specifically, the tax class statement “Tax Class 5041(b)(6)” will not be required to appear on containers of wine that are taxed at the hard cider tax rate until January 1, 2019. Through a notice of proposed rulemaking published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, TTB is soliciting comments from all interested parties on this delay of the compliance date for the wine labeling requirement, and, also in that document, TTB is reopening for 60 days the comment period for Notice No 168, the notice of proposed rulemaking that published concurrently with T.D. TTB-147 on January 23, 2017.

Comments on the delayed compliance date referenced in this document (Notice No. 168A) are due on or before February 5, 2018. The comment period for the proposed rule, Notice No. 168, published on January 23, 2017, at 82 FR 7753 is reopened for 60 days, and, therefore, comments on Notice No. 168 also are now due on or before February 5, 2018.

27 CFR Parts 24 and 27

Summary

On January 23, 2017, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) published a temporary rule, T.D. TTB-147, Implementation of Statutory Amendments Requiring the Modification of the Definition of Hard Cider, that amended its regulations to implement changes made to the definition of “hard cider” in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (PATH Act) of 2015. The amended regulations included a requirement that the statement “Tax class 5041(b)(6)” appear on the container of any wine for which the hard cider tax rate is claimed if the wine is removed from wine premises or customs custody on or after January 1, 2018. Concurrent with the temporary rule, TTB published Notice of Proposed Rulemaking No. 168 requesting comments on the regulatory amendments made by T.D. TTB-147. In response to a comment received from a cider industry trade association, TTB, in a temporary rule published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, is now delaying the compliance date for the hard cider tax class labeling requirement by one year, until January 1, 2019. In this document, TTB is requesting comments on that delayed compliance date, and we are also re-opening the comment period for Notice No. 168 for an additional 60 days to request comments on the regulatory amendments described in T.D. TTB-147.

The comment period for the proposed rule published on June 22, 2016 (81 FR 40584) is reopened for 90 days. Written comments on Notice No. 160 are now due on or before January 9, 2018.

27 CFR Parts 4 and 24

Summary

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is reopening for an additional 90 days the comment period for Notice No. 160, Proposed Revisions to Wine Labeling and Recordkeeping Requirements, a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2016. In Notice No. 160, TTB proposed to amend its labeling and recordkeeping regulations in 27 CFR part 24 to provide that any standard grape wine containing 7 percent or more alcohol by volume that is covered by a certificate of exemption from label approval may be labeled with a varietal (grape type) designation, a type designation of varietal significance, a vintage date, or an appellation of origin only if the wine is labeled in compliance with the standards set forth in the appropriate sections of 27 CFR part 4 for that label information. TTB also proposed to amend its part 4 wine labeling regulations to include a reference to the new part 24 requirement. TTB is reopening the comment period a second time in response to requests from a number of commenters. In addition, TTB is also soliciting comments on alternative proposals put forth by commenters during the previous public comment periods for Notice No. 160.

The comment period for the proposed rule published on November 22, 2016 (81 FR 83752) is reopened for 90 days. Written comments on Notice No. 164 are now due on or before January 9, 2018.

27 CFR Part 24

Summary

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is reopening for an additional 90 days the comment period for Notice No. 164, Wine Treating Materials and Related Regulations, a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on November 22, 2016. TTB is taking this action in response to requests from wine industry members and trade associations.

This temporary rule amends the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) regulations to implement changes made to the definition of “hard cider” in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015. The modified definition broadens the range of wines eligible for the hard cider tax rate. TTB is amending its regulations to reflect the modified definition of hard cider effective for products removed on or after January 1, 2017, and to set forth new labeling requirements to identify products to which the hard cider tax rate applies. The new labeling requirements include both a one-year transitional rule and a new labeling requirement that takes effect for products removed on or after January 1, 2018. TTB is also soliciting comments from all interested parties on these amendments through a notice of proposed rulemaking published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register .

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, by means of a temporary rule, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) implements changes made to the definition of “hard cider” in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015. The modified definition broadens the range of wines eligible for the hard cider tax rate. TTB is amending its regulations to reflect the modified definition of hard cider effective for products removed on or after January 1, 2017, and to set forth new labeling requirements to identify products to which the hard cider tax rate applies. The new labeling requirements include both a one-year transitional rule and a new labeling requirement that takes effect for products removed on or after January 1, 2018. The text of the regulations in that temporary rule published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register serves as the text of the proposed regulations.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is amending its regulations relating to alcohol excise taxes to implement certain changes made to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC) by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act). This rulemaking implements section 332 of the PATH Act, which amends the IRC to change tax return due dates and remove bond requirements for certain eligible taxpayers. Section 332 authorizes a new annual return period for taxpayers paying taxes imposed with respect to distilled spirits, wines, and beer on a deferred basis who reasonably expect to be liable for not more than $1,000 in such taxes imposed for the calendar year and who are liable for not more than $1,000 in such taxes in the preceding calendar year. Section 332 also removes bond requirements for taxpayers who are eligible to pay excise taxes on distilled spirits, wines, and beer using quarterly or annual return periods and who pay those taxes on a deferred basis. Under section 332, such taxpayers are exempt from bond requirements with respect to distilled spirits and wine only to the extent those products are for nonindustrial use. TTB is soliciting comments from all interested parties on these amendments through a notice of proposed rulemaking published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register .

In a temporary rule published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is amending its regulations relating to excise taxes imposed on distilled spirits, wines, and beer to implement certain changes made to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC) by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act). The temporary rule implements section 332 of the PATH Act, which amends the IRC to remove bond requirements and change tax return due dates for certain eligible excise taxpayers. In this document, TTB proposes to adopt the regulations in the temporary rule as a permanent regulatory change. The text of the regulations in the temporary rule serves as the text of the proposed regulations. This document also proposes to amend the regulations governing the submission of reports by certain eligible excise taxpayers. In this document, TTB is soliciting comments on the amendments adopted in the temporary rule and the amendments proposed in this notice of proposed rulemaking.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is proposing to amend its regulations pertaining to the production of wine and in particular in regard to the permissible treatments that may be applied to wine and to juice from which wine is made. These proposed amendments are in response to requests from wine industry members to authorize certain wine treating materials and processes not currently authorized by TTB regulations. TTB invites comments on the proposed regulatory changes described in this document, as well as on other wine treatment issues for which regulatory amendments are not proposed in this document.

The comment period for the proposed rule published on June 22, 2016 (81 FR 40584) is reopened. Written comments on Notice No. 160 are now due on or before December 7, 2016.

27 CFR Parts 4 and 24

Summary

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is reopening the comment period for Notice No. 160, Proposed Revisions to Wine Labeling and Recordkeeping Requirements, a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2016. In Notice No. 160, TTB proposed to amend its labeling and recordkeeping regulations in 27 CFR part 24 to provide that any standard grape wine containing 7 percent or more alcohol by volume that is covered by a certificate of exemption from label approval may be labeled with a varietal (grape type) designation, a type designation of varietal significance, a vintage date, or an appellation of origin only if the wine is labeled in compliance with the standards set forth in the appropriate sections of 27 CFR part 4 for that label information. TTB also proposed to amend its part 4 wine labeling regulations to include a reference to the new part 24 requirement. TTB is reopening the comment period in response to requests from two wine industry trade associations. In addition, this reopening of the comment period solicits comments from the public on issues that were raised in comments received in response to Notice No. 160.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to amend its labeling and recordkeeping regulations in 27 CFR part 24 to provide that any standard grape wine containing 7 percent or more alcohol by volume that is covered by a certificate of exemption from label approval may not be labeled with a varietal (grape type) designation, a type designation of varietal significance, a vintage date, or an appellation of origin unless the wine is labeled in compliance with the standards set forth in the appropriate sections of 27 CFR part 4 for that label information. TTB is also proposing to amend its part 4 wine labeling regulations to include a reference to the new part 24 requirement.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is revising the wine regulations governing the return of wine to bonded wine premises in response to two statutory changes. First, to incorporate a provision contained in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, TTB is removing a regulatory requirement that wine returned to bond must be unmerchantable. Second, to incorporate a provision contained in the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, TTB is revising the regulations to clarify that the refund or credit of excise tax applies to any wine removed from a bonded wine cellar and subsequently returned to bond. The current regulatory text states that a refund or credit of tax is available only for wine produced in the United States.